ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spring — the season
  3. lean — to bend
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. tube — the underground
  7. suit — to fit
  8. march — music
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. suit — clothes
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pound — a weight
  17. suit — in cards
  18. march — the month
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. march — the month
  21. lean — thin
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. tube — in a tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com